Historically, hearing aids assisted people with hearing loss by providing sound amplification. Typically, hearing aids include microphones to detect external sound, a processor to amplify the detected sound, a battery, and a speaker to present amplified sound to a user. Many hearing aids presently translate the detected sound into a digital signal and use a digital signal processor (DSP) to process the signal. The DSP can manipulate the signal by applying signal processing algorithms stored on the hearing aid to improve the quality of the amplified sound.
Wearers of hearing aids desire increasingly smaller sized devices to improve comfort and personal appearance. However, the small size of hearing aids limits functionality. This form-factor constraint is apparent in short battery life, low powered processors, and weak signal processing algorithms. Sound processing is limited due to the constraints imposed by the small size of hearing aids. For example, much of the processing power of current hearing aids is devoted to reducing feedback, and thus, remaining processing power is unable to run powerful signal processing algorithms.
It is desirable to maintain the hearing aid as a small device that is placed in or on the ear of a user. It is also desirable to hearing aid users to have a device which is portable, always present, and able to produce high quality amplified sound. Even with increases in processor power and component miniaturization, hearing aid users still have many complaints about the capabilities of current hearing aids. Therefore, methods and devices that provide improved signal processing and function within the existing form-factor constraints would have considerable utility.